Many years ago, I was at the Jersey shore, enjoying a day at the ocean. I was 11 or 12 years of age and carefree as kids are. Playing in water that was about waist deep, I suddenly found myself in the grip of a hidden force that pulled me off my feet. Frantically, I watched the safety of the sandy beach grow further away. Coughing and choking, it seemed like I would drown until the father of the family I was with appeared next to me and told me to hang onto him. 20 seconds of sheer terror is how I remember that day. Later I learned it was called a ‘riptide.’ It’s like a river in the ocean that causes a strong, narrow current that flows directly away from the shoreline. Most ocean drowning deaths are caused by rip currents, hidden and very dangerous.
We all get caught in rip currents that drag us into deep water from time to time, don’t we? A phone call announces a crisis, the boss hands us a lay-off notice, a child becomes ill, war breaks out, the economy fails, emotions go haywire, faith disappears into the fog of doubt – that list goes on and on! People ‘die’ in those kinds of situations; perhaps not physically, but some just give up hope and become the living dead. Some decide to hid in a some substance that lets them escape, if only for a few hours at a time. Some make self-destructive choices, losing integrity in the process.
Rip currents are one of the reasons why I am so thankful for the Church, the Body of Christ! IF she is functioning as she is designed, a lifeguard will appear offering the one in the rip current a rescue, pulling him to safety, or at least helping him stay afloat until the current gives out. Disciple, that is why you need to be networked into a local church, building and protecting strong ties to others who will see your distress and come alongside of you with more than platitudes or condemnation. An authentic church is not a place where neatly dressed people with beautifully ordered lives show up for a couple of hours a week to boast about their accomplishments or to sneer at people whose lives are ‘such a mess.’ It’s a place where real people celebrate God’s goodness and hang onto each other for dear life. It’s a ‘family’ where hurting people are re-connected to the healing Presence of the Spirit. It’s a spiritual hospital where sinful people find a Savior who restores them to the wholeness that God created them to enjoy.
Have we forgotten what the announcement of Jesus’ birth was about? It was not about a coronation! "An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21, NIV)
If you’re enjoying a sunny day at the beach in your life right now (figuratively speaking), give thanks! If you’re caught in a rip current that is dragging you down, YELL- to God, to a trusted disciple. A simple prayer will suffice – “Lord, help me!” There’s hope in Him. The teenage girl who became the mother of Jesus, found her life turned upside by a divine visitation that seemed more like a riptide than a blessing, at first. Tucked into the story of her encounter is a phrase I want to leave with you today. "Mary said to the angel, “But how? … His reply, “Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:34, 37, The Message)
Hang on to hope today! A Savior has been born. He is Christ, the Lord!
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Jesus! What a friend for sinners!
Jesus lover of my soul!
Friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Jesus! What a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted tried and sometimes failing,
He, my strength my victory wins.
Hallelujah what a Savior.
Hallelujah what a Friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.
Jesus! I do now receive Him;
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness;
I am His and He is mine.
Our Great Savior
Chapman, J. Wilbur / Prichard, Rowland H.
© Public Domain
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